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8 Basicsbasics9Facts & FiguresOfficial country name: Hellenic RepublicPopulation: (2001 census) 10.9 millionTotal territory: 131,944 sq km (51,458 sq mi)Athens population: 3.8 millionReligion: 98% Greek Orthodox, 1.5% MuslimPolitical system: Parliamentary democracyGDP per capita: $ 33,400 (2008)Inflation rate: 1.3 % (2009)Unemployment rate: 10%Highest point: Mount Olympus 2,917mLength of coastline: 15,021 kmAlcoholGreeks tend to drink on social occasions and you will rarelywitness scenes of extreme drunkenness in the streets orin bars, clubs etc. Alcohol is freely available 24 hours a dayeven from kiosks in the streets.The common beer brands dominating the market are anythingbut local: Amstel and Heineken boast a combined marketshare of around 70%. However, over the last few yearsmany new Greek brands have been introduced into the marketand are steadily gaining in popularity: Mythos and Alphaare the most popular. Most other well-known internationalbrands are widely available.Go easy on beer as most brands have an alcohol contentof five percent or higher. Greeks generally drink beer in thesummer months and usually as an accompaniment to theirmeals.Stick to beer or wine unless you are absolutely certain ofthe quality of the spirits served. Some bar owners servecheap (methanol-based) spirit substitutes out of brandedbottles and a great night out may end up in a miserable dayin bed nursing a nasty hangover.A visitor should not leave Athens without savouring Ouzo,the renowned Greek traditional spirit (together with scotch,to be sure) that is best enjoyed with seafood meals. Dilutedwith water and ice, it becomes a lovely milky-colouredaniseed-flavoured drink, but be warned: it will give you theworst hangover of your life if you consume it in excess.Mastiha is another pleasant, sweet-tasting spirit, madewith the resin of the Mastic tree and is an exclusive productof Chios island.Finally, Greece produces a plethora of international and localgrape varieties, which make very good wines. Retsina is ofcourse the most famous of these, with a pine resin flavour,which is added during fermentation. It is, however, lookeddown upon by modern-day Athenians, who don’t think ofit as classy enough for their refined taste buds: more of apeasant or working class wine.BouzoukiaThis is an exclusively Greek institution, which has evolvedto survive many decades of Athenian nightlife: Well-knownGreek singers perform live most nights in ‘bouzoukia’ nightclubsand that’s where a visitor can get a first-hand experienceof the truly local sense of fun. Although plate-smashingis no longer en vogue, the heaps upon heaps of carnationsshowered upon singers as they perform songs from thelocal popular repertoire, the endless quantities of scotchdowned in a single night and, no less, the scantily dressedyoung ladies dancing on the tables and singing along withtheir favourite artists, all go a long way towards making thisa not-to-be-missed experience for any visitor.TimeGreece is in the Eastern European Time zone (EET):GMT +2 hours. Between the last Sunday of March andthe last Sunday of October Greece is in the EasternEuropean Summer Time Zone (EEST): GMT +3 hoursCustomsThere are no restrictions placed upon incoming travelersfrom other E.U. countries (with the exception of tobacco andalcohol products, which are restricted to amounts correspondingto individual personal use only, i.e. 800 cigarettesand 10lt of strong spirits per visitor).If you are arriving from non-EU countries, you are entitled toimport products of a total value of €175. Animals must haveundergone all mandatory vaccinations and be equippedwith passports. Strangely enough, you are not allowed toimport the following: drugs, weapons, nuclear or biologicalsubstances, explosives, flammable gases, protected species,animal products and pornographic material (as for thislast category, you shouldn’t worry, as you’ll be able to find itaplenty once you’re in the country)Disabled travellersUnfortunately, Athens is not a Special Needs-friendly city.In fact, it is a disgrace that even the disabled residentsof the city itself face a nightmare whenever they need toleave their homes. Authorities try to make their lives easierby constructing wheelchair and blind-person friendly pavementsbut, in practice, all these vital aids for the disabledare rendered useless by insensitive car and motorbike drivers,who park their vehicles in every last inch of availablespace imaginable (including right in front of wheelchair accessramps), making the life of even non-disabled pedestriansa living hell. Restaurants and public buildings are obligedby law to offer easy access and specially adapted toilets forthe disabled, but then again, laws are there to be broken...DrugsAll drugs are illegal in Greece and there is a strict zerotolerancepolicy. However, smoking hash/cannabis doeshappen among young (and not-so-young) Athenians, butthey usually do so in the privacy of their homes. Takeour word for it and don’t try to get your hands on dope.ClimateElectricityEuropean style two pin sockets are used and electricitycomes at 230V 50Hz AC. Adaptors are available at mosthotels and electrical appliance shops, as well as at theAirport shops.EtiquetteGreeks like to think of themselves as a nation apart from allthe rest. They believe they are direct descendants of theirillustrious ancient forebears and they are very proud of theirhistory and past. They tend to think that the rest of the world,although it revolves around them, is constantly conspiringagainst them and never understands them.If you avoid questioning the...obvious correctness of theseviews, most Greeks will lean over backwards to please youas a guest. If you go out to dinner with locals, there is no wayyou will be allowed to pay your share of the bill and if they askyou to stay over at their house, they will in all likelihood offeryou their own bed, in order to make you feel as comfortableas possible. This is known as ‘filotimo’, a Greek word withoutan exact equivalent in English, meaning something betweena sense of honour, dignity and pride and is a highly-praisedvirtue in Greek societyHealth & SafetyAthens is a polluted city but has come a long way since theeighties. New technology cars and buses and the transferof all heavy industries outside city limits have reduced emissionsto a bearable level for a city of its size. Depending onatmospheric conditions though, you may still get the oddsmoggy day and feel like you just woke up in Mexico City!There are no widespread infectious diseases that should beof concern to the visitor and no vaccinations are requiredprior to your visit. Greece has a relatively low (but steadily andalarmingly rising) level of HIV infections. Complacency amongyoung people leads the authorities to run awareness-raisingcampaigns every so often.Tap water is chlorinated and perfectly safe. Or so the publicwater company says. If you prefer bottled mineral wateryou can buy it everywhere cheap. Its street price is strictlyregulated (50c for a half litre bottle and 1 Euro for a 1.5 litrebottle) as it is considered an essential amenity during thelong hot summers.Athens is one of the safest European capitals (then again,most guides for most capitals tend to claim the same). Buthere we actually mean it. The good old cliché ‘if you don’t golooking for trouble you’ll be perfectly fine’ applies here too.Petty crime does exist, but if you avoid certain areas, such asthe backstreets around Omonia and Vathis Squares, especiallyas a sole traveler, and keep an eye on your belongings,your stay in Athens will be trouble-free.Women traveling alone may encounter the Mediterraneantemperament of some local men but this rarely goes beyonda stare or a whistle.Finally, you will definitely get thrown out of a bar if you getplastered and cause trouble.But that’s fair enough, isn’t it?MetroIt was finally constructed about a century after most of itsEuropean counterparts, but for that same reason, Athenshas one of the most luxurious and squeaky clean metrosystems in Europe. It only has two lines (plus a pre-existingone which runs over-ground) but its stations are lined withmarble and granite and are generously and tastefully adornedwith artworks and replicas of ancient objects (in some cases,even showcasing original archaeological material).Famous Greeks [10]Yannis Tsarouchis 1910 - 1989Widely-regarded as one of the most important 20thCentury Greek painters, Yannis Tsarouchis followed twomain approaches to his artistic career; the incorporationof the ancient Greek ideal as expressed by the Renaissanceand the Baroque movements, and simultaneouslyrejecting these ideals. In doing so, he played a pivotalrole in portraying and shaping Modern Greek identity,alongside contemporaries such as Yannis Moralis andNikos Hadjikyriakos-Ghykas, all members of the Armosart group, established in 1949.Born in Piraeus, young Tsarouchis went to study at theAthens School of Fine Art in 1929 and graduated in 1935.In paralel with his studies, he attended the studio ofprominent Greek modernist, Photis Kontoglou, one of thefirst artists advocating the inclusion of Greek traditionsinto painting. It was with Kontoglou that Tsarouchis learntabout Byzantine iconography, popular architecture anddressing customs. After graduating, he travelled to Istanbul,Paris and Italy where he was exposed to the artisticmovements of Europe. During this time, he also met witha number of prominent contemporaries, including HenriMatisse, Edouard Manet and Alberto Giacometti.Returning to a war-torn Greece in 1936, Tsarouchis puthis artistic career on hold to become a soldier in theGreco-Italian war in 1940. Greatly influenced by Greeceand Europe before and after the Second World War, it canbe said that Tsarouchis was not only a humanist, but atruly intellectual painter. Adopting styles and techniquesfrom movements he was drawn to, such as Impressionism,Tsarouchis created a truly distinctive style. Withconstant references to Greece’s past and present - fromancient sculpture to folk art - Tsarouchis reflected on thecomplexities of Greece’s identity during his lifetime withequal amounts of tragedy, beauty, humour and wit.*More famous Greeks to read online: www.inyourpocket.comAthens In Your Pocketathens.inyourpocket.com athens.inyourpocket.comFebruary - March 2010